Swedenborg's Secret

Lars Bergquist is a former Swedish diplomat who has translated Chinese, Italian and French poetry and prose into Swedish. This is the English translation of a highly acclaimed biography of Emanuel Swedenborg, which came out in 1999 and is the first definitive, full-length biography for 50 years. For those readers unacquainted with this enlightenment genius, this beautifully produced book provides the ideal introduction to the man and his influence. The book helps rescue Swedenborg from the margins of European thought by demonstrating his role as a founding father of modern esoteric spirituality. His stand-off with Kant (or rather Kant's with Swedenborg) represented a clash in ways of knowing with which we are now much more familiar. Swedenborg's unique distinction was to combine his intuitive visionary capacity with his analytical and empirical gifts as a scientist.